The coaches of both clubs are set to leave for pastures new at the end of the season with Bayern boss Ottmar Hitzfeld taking the reins of Switzerland, while Hamburg's Huub Stevens is heading to PSV Eindhoven.

Acknowledged as two of the Bundesliga's most astute coaches in recent times, Hitzfeld has won the league six times with two different clubs while Stevens, despite not actually winning the Bundesliga, has taken clubs like Hertha Berlin, Schalke and Hamburg to the brink of glory on limited resources.

In fact, Stevens could not have been any closer to the ultimate piece of silverware in German football than in 2001 when none other than Hitzfeld broke his heart.

Stevens' Schalke were celebrating the title on the final day of the season when they heard that Bayern were losing at Hamburg after their game had already ended.

However, a goal in the fifth minute of injury time from Bayern's Patrick Andersson soon turned those celebrations into heartache as Stevens' title dream was shattered.

A win at the Allianz Arena on Sunday would take HSV to within three points of the league leaders and make another photo finish in the Bundesliga likely.

Before that game, however, Werder Bremen have the chance to draw level with the Bavarians at the top of the table when they play Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Werder have had little time to prepare for the game, with the match scheduled less than 48 hours after their UEFA Cup exertions against Braga.

Bayer Leverkusen are another victim of the German Football League's (DFL) inflexibility regarding the scheduling of fixtures, which has coach Michael Skibbe livid.

"This purely makes a mockery of the league," said Skibbe, who earlier this season accused the DFL of "punishing teams for being successful".

With five German clubs still involved in the UEFA Cup, it is inevitable that some will have to play on Saturday since the DFL refuses to allow more than two games to be staged on a Sunday.

This means Leverkusen host a Schalke side who will have had an extra two days to recover from their Champions League win over Porto on Tuesday.

Nurnberg do have an extra day to recharge their batteries after their UEFA Cup clash with Benfica on Thursday, but even that is not enough to be fully prepared for Sunday's relegation battle with Energie Cottbus.

The match will be coach Thomas von Heesen's first home Bundesliga game in charge of Nurnberg after replacing Hans Meyer earlier this month and he is still getting to know the players.

Arminia Bielefeld coach Michael Frontzeck has had a little longer in office, but after three defeats since taking over just before Christmas, he is yet to pick up even a point.

That will be the minimum aim for the East Westphalians when they entertain bottom-of-the-table Duisburg on Saturday.

In this weekend's other games, in-form Wolfsburg look to continue their march towards the European qualification zone against the inconsistent Hertha Berlin while Karlsruhe are only one step behind the top five as they travel to defending champions Stuttgart.

Borussia Dortmund will hope to build on their win at Cottbus last weekend when they play another club with relegation fears, Hansa Rostock, on Saturday.

On Friday night Marcel Koller's Bochum will entertain Hannover, who sit six points behind the European places.